need to refresh my irish language skills

[booyhoo]

i know this isn't necessarily eduaction but it affects my son. i have gcse Irish but haven't used it in about 8/9 years. my ds has now started at irish medium primary school after two years at an irish medium nursery and as much as i have tried (i go to the irish M&T group and try to take part in conversations with teachers and other parents, have also bought a few books and CD's aswell) i just don't seem to be able to put what i know into practise. i blank when people talk to me or ask me something and i really feel i need to improve now if my son stands any chance of getting on in school.

i also joined an evening class but getting a babysitter was a nightmare so i had to leave.

can anyone recommend a good home learning system or something that will help me?

The BBC have a few home learning type of things, not sure what sort of level it goes up to. I've used some of their beginners Welsh stuff and it seemed quite good.

thank you edustudent. i will check that out.

I suggest THIS series might be good. They're not very in-depth with grammar and stuff, but quite useful if you just want to refresh basic conversational language. My dad teaches Irish at university and used the Buntus Cainte books to teach my brother and I when we were younger, as well as occasionally using them in his classes.

THIS website might be helpful as well. I'm sure there's more stuff on the internet too. With most languages doing a little bit of work on it often is the key.

Anyway, good luck! It's good that you've chosen to send your son to Irish schools. It's sad how the language seems in decline amongst the youth. I live in Wales and the system here for teaching Welsh in schools seems much better.

dustdustdust, thank you. those are great.

i loved irish when i learnt it at school. we are really lucky as the town i live in has a high population of irish speakers and we have the nursery and primary on our doorstep. there has been alot of funding recently for classes and just last month two new schools were confirmed in neighbouring towns.

Hi booyoo. I am trying to do this too. Perhaps we should have a thread as Gaelige?

I have been using Buntus Cainte and listening to as many Irish speakers as possible so that it flows a little more. I have also been reading Irish articles with a dictionary. whenever I get an Irish paper.

Try listening or watching to RTE or TnaG programmes on the internet. Hector on RTE2FM is a bit of an "amadan" but is a big "Gaelgoir" and weaves lots of Irish into his programmes. He has a very musical acccent.

You should visit our website www.talkirish.com. We have loads of free materials to help you learn Irish - from quizzes and games to free audio files and flashcards.

And we've just released a brand new version of the classic Buntús Cainte course. Now you can download our MP3s and learn on your iPhone, iPod or iPad.

Be lovely to have you as part of our community!

Bain sult as an suíomh!